


Two of a Kind

by spacelemonunderscore



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Flirting, Older Man/Younger Woman, Romance, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26748475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacelemonunderscore/pseuds/spacelemonunderscore
Summary: A slim man was standing in front of the class. In one hand he held a microphone on which she could see an ornate crown, the emblem of Kings Landing University, and with the other he gestured as he explained. He paid no attention to Sansa, so she allowed herself to study him more closely. He had dark hair, and although his temples were streaked with silver, he couldn't have been much older than his late thirties. On the board behind him Sansa could read his name, "Baelish, Introduction to Psychology 1183".
Relationships: Petyr Baelish/Sansa Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Two of a Kind

Sansa strode through the deserted corridor, her steps echoing with such loudness as if they wanted to scold her for being late. She held the strap of her bag tightly and walked a little faster. Oh, how much she hated being late and then on the first day of the new seminar of all things. It wasn't even her fault. The bus was stuck in traffic for several stations and she didn't know her way around the new big city yet, otherwise she might have got off and walked the rest of the way. But before she could finish the thought, she had to admit to herself that it was in fact her own responsibility. Of course, she couldn’t know that her bus was going to be late, but she should have at least considered it.

She usually prepared for anything, and if she was being honest, this stupid mistake annoyed her more than the actual lack of punctuality.

Finally, she reached the end of the hall and could see the correct room number on a small sign next to the massive wooden door. Sansa didn't know what to expect in this room. Although this was her third lecture already, the other seminars had taken place in smaller project rooms. The prospect that there might be about a hundred pairs of eyes watching her once she entered, made her toy with the idea of simply turning around and just copy the notes from a fellow student later. But now she was here already and if there was one thing, she hated more than being late, it was giving up.

She took a deep breath before holding her student’s ID to the card reader next to her. A faint _click_ told her that the door was now unlocked, so she stepped inside.

Her eyes scanned the room briefly. The hall was smaller than expected, but most of the rows were fully occupied. To not attract any more attention than necessary Sansa hurried to leave her place at the door and moved towards the seats. She didn't want to appear rude and disturb the class, so she quickly sat down in the second row. As in so many other lectures, the first row was completely ignored by the students and so she shared the front seats of the hall with two other girls. She still hadn't given the lecturer a direct look in case his face reflected his disapproval of her late arrival, but after quietly taking her note block and pens out of her bag, she eventually dared to look up.

A slim man was standing in front of the class. In one hand he held a microphone on which she could see an ornate crown, the emblem of Kings Landing University, and with the other he gestured as he explained. He paid no attention to Sansa, so she allowed herself to study him more closely. She noticed that he was well dressed. He wore a pair of dark grey suit trousers into which he had tucked a white shirt. At first glance, nothing unusual for professors at their university, but the clothes looked of high-quality and fitted perfectly, as if they had been tailor-made for him. The fabric hugged his body not too tightly, yet when he crossed his arms like he did just now, Sansa was able to see his muscles through the sleeves. He had dark hair, and although his temples were streaked with silver, he couldn't have been much older than his late thirties.

On the board behind him Sansa could read his name, "Baelish, Introduction to Psychology 1183".

She neatly copied the few bullet points that he had already written down, underlined the heading with her pastel pink highlighter and added today’s date to the beginning of the page.

“So, as you can see there are different types of anxiety. On the one hand, it can be caused by physical things such as spiders and disappears as soon as the threatening object is out of reach and sight. On the other hand, it can also be caused by intangible fears. Take climate change, for example.”

The room hung spellbound on his lips. Sansa didn't hear any chatter not even the faintest whisper from the rows behind her while Professor Baelish spoke.

“This is a fear that is constant. Anxiety, however, is a reaction of the body that should take place in a temporally limited manner. It prepares us for certain situations.” Sansa took notes and looked up as he paused, almost as if he had waited for her to finish writing. He stroked his beard before he continued.

"Let's assume a bear suddenly storms in and builds up in front of you."

He pointed to the door through which she had just entered the room herself and drew an invisible line to the person who was sitting closest to the entrance - her.

"If I were you, I'd be terribly scared." He spoke to Sansa directly now. She tried to meet his gaze but couldn’t withstand its intensity and looked down at her notes.

“You are under tension. Your body is put into a kind of fight or flight state. Although I would advise you not to fight the bear.”

He added the latter with a grin and winked at her. Sansa felt the warmth spread across her face and hoped that the red of her cheeks wasn’t as visible as she feared, but he had already turned away from her.

It was just then when she realised that she had been holding her breath. As she exhaled, she put her long hair over her right shoulder and felt the cold metal of her necklace where her skin was now exposed. She was running her hand over her neck, when she noticed that Professor Baelish's gaze was on her again which made her freeze in the middle of the movement. Sansa realised she hadn't listened to him when he asked:

"Does that make sense to all of you?"

She could hear murmurs of approval from the ranks behind her. During the rest of the lecture, the professor made sure that the students could follow him or whether there were still questions to be answered.

He ended the session with the words:

“And remember what I said at the beginning of this talk. If you pay attention in this study, you will learn lessons for life. Understanding human nature can make you powerful. It will help you not only to read the people around you, but also to always be one step ahead of your enemies. You can do good in this world," he paused and his gaze wandered the ranks, "or you can destroy lives."

His expression was dark and his tone unusually serious. Sansa glanced aside and realised that she wasn't the only one trying to read the reactions of her fellow students to the professor's change of mood. But then he laughed in amusement and added "If your life is characterised by less intrigue and dramatic storylines than a film though, then you should at least get good grades with active participation."

He smiled and the momentary tension was dissolved at once.

"Before you go, would the students who have been assigned me as their tutor come forward, please?"

Sansa put her stuff into her bag and for a moment she regretted that she wasn't one of those students. She had met her tutor yesterday already. He was a nice guy, very friendly and although she didn’t hang on his every word, she was at least able to look into his eyes. Just the thought of Professor Baelish’s intense gaze earlier made her nearly blush again.

Perhaps it was a good thing that he wasn’t her tutor.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this chapter!
> 
> This is the very first fanfiction I'm writing, so if you have any tips on how I could improve please don't hesitate to write me. I'm not a native speaker, I hope I didn't make too many mistakes so far. If you stumble over any expressions or mistakes feel free to point them out as well! 
> 
> The second chapter will follow as soon as I've translated it!


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